Mangalore construction workers protest

Representatives of the Karnataka State Building and Other Construction Workers’ Federation’s Dakshina Kannada unit staged a protest in Mangalore on Monday demanding that the stone crushing units in the district be allowed to function.

Addressing the protesters in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office, federation’s representative Sunil Kumar Bajal said the closure of stone crushing units had made life difficult for nearly 60,000 workers in the district. As many as 15 lakh labourers worked in stone crushing units in the State, he said.

Mr. Bajal said the norms laid down for starting the unit could not be applied for those operating in Dakshina Kannada. The State government had to come out with norms exclusively for the region and allow operation of the units at the earliest.

Ramanna Vitla, federation’s representative, said the closure of stone crushing units in the district had rendered many people jobless. Absence of crushed stones had led to stoppage of many construction projects.